twist and shout

I'm sure everybody's news feeds and timelines are full of declarations of love and photos and bunches of flowers so I won't bore you with any of that. Yesterday I spent about 4/5 hours in the kitchen making my boyfriend about 25 cupcakes (why so many?!!). I separated eggs, creamed mixtures together, melted chocolate, whisked egg whites (really impressed by this one), smashed two bowls, got flour all over myself and ate icing until I felt sick. Thought I'd share with you a few photos and a much easier chocolate cupcake recipe (here!) than the one I used. I topped them all off with a square of turkish delight as that is my boyfriends absolute favourite, but they would work for anyone topped off with their own favourite, I think malteasers would be a good one! Have a good day whatever you're doing! Also check out my millions of ebay listings if you're after some bargains or pattern cutting books for cheap, here.

LUCILLEX

Eton mess cupcakes

I know Valentines day isn't everyone's cup of tea and to be honest it isn't really mine. I cannot be dealing with over the top shows of affection, not me at all! Instead I'm much more of a 'token' person. My boyfriend normally makes me a CD and buys dinner and I like to bake him something in cute little heart cupcake cases, purely because it gives me an excuse to buy them. He's an eton mess fan so last year I made him eton mess cupcakes, they are as good as they sound! They can be a little bit of effort (making the strawberry sauce) but that was all part of the fun for me and made me feel like a domestic goddess (which isn't a way I'd normally describe myself). Even if I do say so myself, they taste great, if you're not making them for val day, just make them! I don't know whether or not to go for the tried and true eton mess cupcake again this year or broaden my baking horizons a bit further? Any ideas? Let me know if you try them! I followed this recipe here. The silcone heart shaped cases are from M&S!

For the cupcakes

• 125 g Golden caster sugar
• 125 g margarine
• 125 g self-raising flour
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• ½ tsp baking powder
• Red food colouring, optional
• ½ tsp vanilla bean paste or 3 drops of vanilla essence

For the buttercream

• 100 g butter
• 220 g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

For the strawberry sauce

• 15 strawberries
• 2 tbsp soft brown sugar

To decorate

• 1-2 meringue, crumbled
• strawberries

LUCILLEX